Various points of interest today:
The lobbying campaign for the double track proposals has been making an impact in the corridors of power. See:
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/display.var.2262529.0.rail_upgrade_calls_make_impression.phpOne for Mookiemoo - Mark Hopwood said
FGW▸ are looking at cutting some of the padding out, as of the December 2008 timetable change - though I suspect it may be some of the more insane off-peak waits and the extended stops at Evesham on Saturdays that are the top targets at this stage.
Long-term they are looking at stabling and servicing facilities at Oxford, Worcester, Hereford and Reading (presumably making them more
HST▸ -friendly) with a view to cutting down running empty stock to and from the depots in London and Bristol. Mr Hopwood specifically mentioned the impact if there is some problem miles away, which fouls up the empty stock moves in the early hours from Bristol to Abergavenny and Old Oak Common to Moreton-in-Marsh (for the 05.50)
There was a suggestion from FGW that double-track completion may slip to December 2010, or even into 2011. If double track gets the go-ahead, then a blockade is likely on the Evesham to Moreton-in-Marsh section to speed up work here, most likely August as passenger numbers in peaks are low (I have joined the first train out of Hereford on days that month when there were fewer than 80 passengers on board after Moreton, according to the
TM‡'s headcounts).
In Worcester, the county council is looking at buying up the city's post office building (services are switching to WH Smith) next to Foregate St station with a view to using the site to create a 'gateway' station in the city centre.
FGW and London Midland have drawn up a plan for an improved joint service between Worcester, Cheltenham and Gloucester which they are now seeking approval and financial support for. If approved, it could start from December. Would plug the key gap in the morning (about 6.50 to 9.05) in departures from Worcester and be essentially hourly all day, with good connections at Cheltenham with
XC▸ services.
LM▸ also planning a half-hourly Worcester-Bromsgrove-Birmingham service, due to rising passenger numbers, up 12-14% year-on-year.
A disabled access route to the Oxford-bound platform at Evesham station is now under construction on an old ramp down from Worcester Road after many years of delays - I think this was first suggested under Thames Trains after the old wooden barrow crossing across the tracks was removed, along with Kingham's - still no sign of a solution there though.
Cotswold and Malverns Tramsport Partnership has printed 75,000 copies of a fold-out guide to the Cotswold Line and on to Hereford with local info, attractions and bus connections to encourage use of the line. It will be distributed through visitor information centres. Nice big map of the lines on one side.
CLPG» is helping organise a bus service on Saturdays in August, linking Evesham station with the village of Broadway and the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway at Toddington. Plan to run bus to/from Honeybourne has been dropped as station facilities are basic and not attractive for a long wait for connections, whereas Evesham station is at the end of the town's High Street.
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